Valarie Sion is out to equal an all-time Diamond League record, while Oblique Seville is hoping to keep an impressive Jamaican streak alive on day one of the Wanda Diamond League Final in Brussels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This Friday and Saturday, the world\u2019s best athletes will battle it out in Brussels for the first global title of the season at the 2026 Wanda Diamond League Final.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here are five athletes to keep an eye on during the first day of action on Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Valarie Sion may have suffered her first Diamond League defeat for three years in London in July, but she remains the firm favourite to take Diamond Trophy in Brussels on Friday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 31-year-old has held the title for five years straight since 2021, picking up 23 wins in the process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She now stands on the verge of history, as a sixth title would see her draw level with the all-time record, currently held by Croatian discus rival Sandra Elkasevic, New Zealand shot put legend Valerie Adams and Colombian triple jump icon Caterine Ibarg\u00fcen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
St. Lucian sprinter Julien Alfred has dominated the women\u2019s 100m in recent years, winning Olympic gold in Paris and back-to-back Diamond League titles in 2024 and 2025. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This time around, the 25-year-old lines up in the 200m after what has arguably been her finest ever season over the longer distance. After opening her campaign with victory over Melissa Jefferson-Wooden in Rome, Alfred ran a personal best of 21.51 in Monaco before securing qualification to the final with another impressive win in London a week later. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She will take some beating in Brussels, where she goes up against Americans Anavia Battle and Kayla White and newly crowned European champion Amy Hunt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mondo Duplantis may still be the firm favourite in the men\u2019s pole vault, but the world record holder faces perhaps the most serious challenge yet to his hegemony as he eyes a sixth straight title in the Brussels. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Where in previous years, Duplantis has waltzed unchallenged to the Diamond Trophy, he now has a serious pretender breathing down his neck in the form of Emmanouil Karalis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The world number two has repeatedly pushed Duplantis to the limit in recent weeks, jumping an outdoor best of 6.16m in Lausanne and a new personal best of 6.20m in Zurich. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The latter competition even saw him make a serious attempt at the world record at 6.32m. For the first time in a long time, Duplantis\u2019 aura of invincibility no longer burns quite so brightly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This season has been something of a slow burner for Emmanuel Wanyonyi, but the Kenyan has hit form at just the right moment as he sets his sights on a fourth successive series title in Brussels. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In one of the sport\u2019s most competitive disciplines, the odd defeat has always been an occupational hazard for the world number one. Yet three defeats in a row are another story, and even after breaking the 1000m world record in Monaco, Wanyonyi will have been frustrated with his early-season form, losing over two laps in Rabat, Oslo and London. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He bounced back emphatically in August, however, winning in Lausanne before snatching the world lead from Canadian rival Marco Arop in Zurich. As he prepares to face Arop in Brussels, the Kenyan is once again the undisputed title favourite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the 16 years since the Diamond League began in 2010, there has not been a single season without at least one series champion from Jamaica. While recent years have seen Jamaican triumphs in the discus and the long jump, the sprints still reign supreme in the land of wood and water. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Friday, all eyes will be on the men\u2019s 100m, where world champion Oblique Seville is hoping to claim his first ever Diamond League title, joining compatriots Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell and Ackeem Blake on the honours board. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He faces a stern test, however, with Nigeria\u2019s Kayinsola Ajayi, the USA\u2019s Christian Coleman and South Africa\u2019s Gift Leotlela also on the start list.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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